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where do we stand now in this comparison as I'm on the fence about staying here in Seattle or moving to Atlanta, (Georgia being my home state) here are pros and cons for my conditions on both Seattle and Atlanta.
Seattle:
Pros: I'm already here
It's the Pacific Northwest! Mountains, forest, rivers and the coast
Lots of nature, hikes, food, ect.
Diverse, beautiful city
Was my dream for 10 years before I got here.
Cons: Traffic
Homeless
Drugs
Cost of living (on my pay I'd never be able to afford a house, hell even my own apartment)
Far from family
Atlanta
Pros: Closer to family
Lower cost of living, possibly able to own a house
Beautiful City
Close to mountains and national forest
Diverse population/food ect.
It comes down to personal preference with these two. Atlanta outperforms in Seattle in most metrics but Seattle is on the rise. I would choose Atlanta to be able to "move on" with my life. Scraping change and having a ton of roommates is what you have to do in your 20s, but as you are looking to settle down it gets old quick. I would be close to homeless in Seattle.
Atlanta. It’s the larger, more important city. Seattle is knocking on the door though but all that growth has contributed to terrible growing pains that make living there rough: so much homelessness, absurd COL, lack of diversity, and a city perpetually under construction.
Well this current pandemic is a big wild card that will in all likelihood impact your choice. In theory, Atlanta will be more adversely impacted due to a larger share of its local economy being based on tourism and conventions/large gatherings but who knows how other sectors will fare going forward.
Well this current pandemic is a big wild card that will in all likelihood impact your choice. In theory, Atlanta will be more adversely impacted due to a larger share of its local economy being based on tourism and conventions/large gatherings but who knows how other sectors will fare going forward.
I don't know, the first case of COVID in the states came through the airport I work at in Seattle.
I don't know, the first case of COVID in the states came through the airport I work at in Seattle.
Seattle is more connected to Asian cities than Atlanta is on an international level so that isnt really surprising.
For me specifically having lived in both? Seattle.
Atlanta is beautiful but Seattle's scenery is on another level.
Great summers and not to terrible winters if you can get by the gloomy weather. Atlanta winters are usually mild but surprisingly Seattle and Atlanta can reach about the same lows and both see snow at about the same intervals. Atlanta has longer summers but are also much more humid.
In economic terms both are doing well. Atlanta and Seattle are pretty close in terms of GDP but Seattle is doing this with alot less people. Now on the other end of the spectrum, Seattle is also severely dependent on certain corporations where as Atlanta can take a few hits without being obliterated.
Traffic in both are terrible but Seattle has an excuse due to all the natural barriers. Atlanta's traffic problems are largely due to lack of cohesion, planning, and nimby's of which revolted much needed transit improvements. With that stated however I will say Atlanta proper does do a fairly good job in the transit department, it's mainly the outlying metro that does not want to get on the ball.
Seattle, contrary to belief does have a diverse economy. Seattle is more known for tech, but it does have a logistical, industrial, paper and other industries as well. Atlanta of course has a much stronger logistical side and especially financial sector as well as tourism.
Seattle has better trails, parks, ect mainly due to its setting. Atlanta however is being as innovative as they can especially with beltline.
Both have crime issues. Atlanta has more violent crime, Seattle has more theft. Seattle also has a homeless issue. Atlanta does too but it's a bit more hidden and nowhere near as rampant as it is in Seattle so to speak.
Now here is where things really tip. You need to make alot of money to live comfortably in Seattle or even its metro. $70k in Atlanta for example will got ALOT further than $100k in Seattle for example due to the insane COL. For someone not making a high salary, it would definitely be a threatening issue and you can forget about owning a home. Housing in the Atlanta metro is much cheaper than it is in Seattle even in the affluent burbs.
Atlanta has much better night life with its venue's, I particularly dont go out at night so that sort of thing never really was important to me but for those looking into it, Atlanta would win here.
Last edited by Need4Camaro; 05-02-2020 at 10:03 PM..
Seattle is more connected to Asian cities than Atlanta is on an international level so that isnt really surprising.
For me specifically having lived in both? Seattle.
Atlanta is beautiful but Seattle's scenery is on another level.
Great summers and not to terrible winters if you can get by the gloomy weather. Atlanta winters are usually mild but surprisingly Seattle and Atlanta can reach about the same lows and both see snow at about the same intervals. Atlanta has longer summers but are also much more humid.
In economic terms both are doing well. Atlanta and Seattle are pretty close in terms of GDP but Seattle is doing this with alot less people. Now on the other end of the spectrum, Seattle is also severely dependent on certain corporations where as Atlanta can take a few hits without being obliterated.
Traffic in both are terrible but Seattle has an excuse due to all the natural barriers. Atlanta's traffic problems are largely due to lack of cohesion, planning, and nimby's of which revolted much needed transit improvements. With that stated however I will say Atlanta proper does do a fairly good job in the transit department, it's mainly the outlying metro that does not want to get on the ball.
Seattle, contrary to belief does have a diverse economy. Seattle is more known for tech, but it does have a logistical, industrial, paper and other industries as well. Atlanta of course has a much stronger logistical side and especially financial sector as well as tourism.
Seattle has better trails, parks, ect mainly due to its setting. Atlanta however is being as innovative as they can especially with beltline.
Both have crime issues. Atlanta has more violent crime, Seattle has more theft. Seattle also has a homeless issue. Atlanta does too but it's a bit more hidden and nowhere near as rampant as it is in Seattle so to speak.
Now here is where things really tip. You need to make alot of money to live comfortably in Seattle or even its metro. $70k in Atlanta for example will got ALOT further than $100k in Seattle for example due to the insane COL. For someone not making a high salary, it would definitely be a threatening issue and you can forget about owning a home. Housing in the Atlanta metro is much cheaper than it is in Seattle even in the affluent burbs.
Atlanta has much better night life with its venue's, I particularly dont go out at night so that sort of thing never really was important to me but for those looking into it, Atlanta would win here.
COL is the biggest and main challenge of me even considering leaving Seattle, my pay is based on locality so moving back to Georgia, even Atlanta has a lower locality rate than Seattle, so I'll take a pay cut, although even with the pay cut I'd still be better off in the Atlanta area when it comes to being able to afford a home.
It's easier to go car-less in Seattle, with about double the transit commute share within city limits despite Atlanta's impressive rail spines. For someone like me, that at least brings the cost closer.
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